Crate stacker



July 12, 1960 DAHLHAUSER ET AL 2,944,722

CRATE STACKER Filed June 9, 1958 are shipped r 2,944,722 "Patented Ju y 1 9 Um'ed S e Pa I r CRATE'STACKER V 7 Anthony H..Dahlhauser and Adolph H. Yaegeig 's anta The end walls, as partiallyshown in section in Figure 4 ma'y'beformed of outer plies 14 foldably hinged at their lower edges to the bottom wall and folded upward-therefrom and then doubled over to define an mner ply15 spaced from the'outer ply 14. The end I edges of the side walls may befolded in between the plies at the ends of the end walls, and may be secured by staples, gluing or similar fastenings. To secure the ya'riouswallportions more tightly, the end wall portions may be-cut out to define'openings near the ends thereof as' indicatedat 16, and the inner wall portions. may

be cut out to form tabs 17 projecting into and through the=openings 16'-=to assist" in looking the plies together. Centrallyof theend wall the materialmay be slit to define a downwardly'projecting tongue 18' on the outer ply,"and"a-*short hinged flap 19- ne'ar-the center'of the end' wall, which can swing upward slightly as shown in shipped andstored' in corrugatedboard orpressboard crates which are 'stacked to a-substantial height'for stor-' age and shipment. Heretofore wire stackers have been employed which are mounted at the ends of the crates W and which extend through openings in the end walls of I the next higher. crates. to.hold, the crates in alignment,

and which can, if desired, be bent'pver to secure the V crates-together.- 1 g a a s I I d a Such stackers as previously constructed havebeen-relativelyrdifficult to install and/ or to remove. In some cases the stackers must be inserted from the bottom of the V crate and cannot be inserted after a crate has been placed on the stack. Other types of stackers may be inserted from the top of a crate but are diiiicult to remove.

'It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a crate stacker which is simple and inexpensive in construction and which can easily be installed on and removed from a crate at the end thereof.

Another object is to provide a crate stacker which is securely attached to the double end wall of a crate by passing through slots therein and between plys of the end wall. o

A further object is to provide a crate stacker which is securely held against vertical movement on a crate by bent over end portions on the stacker fitting into openings in the end wall of the crate.

The above and other objects and features of the ill-- slightly below it, the

Figure {4 "forstacking. Additionally, the end wall is cut.

away to define a central opening 21 in its upper edge and t leave an upwardly projecting tab 22 extending upwardlyfrom theinner ply15.

-To receive the crate stacker er the present invention the outer ply; 14 of the end wall is formed centrally of 'its length with a horizontally. extending slot 23 which preferably has short upwardly extensions 24 at its ends. Laterally beyond the ends of the slot 23,and preferably U outer 'end wall ply '14 is formed withopenings25.- 7 Y The stacker of the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, is formed of asingle length of wire bent into a hairpin shaped loopwith straight parallel leg portions 26, an upper rebent portion 27, and lower foot portions. The foot portions of the stacker are formed by outwardly bent parts 28 at the lower ends of the leg portions which extend outward in opposite directions at right angles to the leg portions, and which are bent at right angles at their ends to define short tips 29 extending at right angles from the general plane of the crate stacker.

To assemble a crate stacker embodying the invention on a crate, the rebent end 27 thereof may be slipped vention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stack of crates 5 equipped with crate stackers embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the crate stacker .per se; V

Figure 3 is a partial enlarged to; and

Figure. 4 'is a partial sectional view through two adja 7 perspective view' of a crate end showing attachment of the crate stacker thereto be applied to conventional types of corrugated board 7 or pressboard crates in which various types of fruits, vegetables and the like are stored and shipped. A conventional crate of this type as shown in the drawing is formed of a single piece of corrugated board cut, scored and folded to form a crate having a fiat bottom 10, integral side walls 11, which may be folded inward at their upper edges as indicated at 12 for stilfening and reinforcement, and end walls indicated generally at 13 which include two or more plies of material.

upwardly from the outside of the crate through the slot 23 and out through the opening 21 in the top edge of the crate end wall, as illustrated in dot-dash lines in Figure 3., The stacker is pulled upward until the bent over tips 29 are in registration with the openings 25 in the outer ply 14 of the crate end wall and are then slipped into these openings. When so installed, the stacker will extend approximately verticallyuupward from the end wall of the crate, as shown in Figure 3;

With stackers installed on a crate in the manner described, a second crate may be stacked thereon, as illustrated in Figure '4. When a second crate is placed on the first one, the upwardly projecting stacker loop will extend through the opening in the bottom edge of the end wall of the upper crate formed by cutting out the 'lug 18, and up between the inner and outer plies 14 and 15' of the end wall, as shown in Figure 4.

As the upper crate rests on the upper edge of the lower crate, the upwardly extending tongue 22 on the lower crate will be deflected outwardly by the flap 19 on the upper crate into the space between the outer and inner plies of the end wall thereof. The width of the'tongue 2.2, as shown, is slightly less than the space between the legs 26 of the stacker, so that its upper edge can pass between the legs of the stacker, as illustrated in Figure 4. With the two crates stacked, the upper end of the stacker, which is preferably of a length to project above the end wall of the'up'per crate, can be bent over, if desired, to secure the crates together, or can be left projecting upward. At this time crate stackers can be installed on the upper crate for Stacking of additional crates thereon, or if preferred, the stackers could be installed on the crates before they are placed in the stack.

With the crates stacked, the stackers will hold them securely in alignment, and entry of the projecting tongue 18 at the lower edge of each crate into the opening 21;

of the crate immediately therebelow, will further assist, in holding the crates in alignment. Once the crates are stacked, and particularly if the upper ends of the staekers are bent over, the crates willbe securely held in align-. ment for storage and handling. 7

When it is desired to remove the crates, they may be unstacked from the top by straightening out the bent over ends of the stackers in the event they have been bent over to lock the crates together, or simply by lifting the upper crates from the lower if the stackers have not been bent over. In addition to holding the crates securely in alignment in, a stack, the stackers can be used as handles where desired for handling the crates. Due to engagement of the bent over tips 29 in the openings ,25, the stackers are securely heldagainst either upward or downward movement so that the stacking and unstacking operations can be performed easily and quickly.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, ittwill be understood that this is illustrative only and is not intended as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims, 7

What is claimed is:

1. A crate stacker comprising, in combination with a crate having a multi-ply end wall, vertically aligned openings in the top and bottom edges of the end wall registering with the space between adjacent plies thereof, a horizontal slit in the outer ply of the end wall in vera wall and fitting into the spaced ti'cal alignment with the openings, and spaced openings in the outer ply of the end wall spaced from theslit, a generally U-shaped wire member of a width to fit through the openings and the slit, said member extending through the slit and through the opening at the top edge of the end wall with its closed end up and adapted to extend through the openings in the top and bottom edges of the end Wall of an adjacent crate, the ends of l the legs on the member being bent over perpendicular to the crate end wall and fitting respectively into the spaced openings in the outer ply of the end wall.

2. A crate stacker comprising, in-combination with a crate having a multi-ply end wall, vertically aligned openings in the top and bottom edges .of the end wall registering with the space between adjacent plies thereof, a horizontal slit in the outer ply 'of'the'end wall in vertical alignment with the openings, and spaced openings in the outer ply of the end wall spaced horizontally from the slit-,.a.generally 'U-shaped wire member fitting through the slit :and the opening ingthe upper edge of theendwall with its closedend'up and adapted toextend through the openings in. the top ,and bottom edges of the end wall of an adjacent crate, the ends of the legs on the member being bent outward away from each other beyond the ends ofthe slit and then at right angles to the end openings in the outer .ply of the end Wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 

